John Ward reports on the two international cabling Standards meetings he has attended since the last ‘Standards Corner’

On a cool northern hemisphere spring morning, cabling sector representatives huddled in a small room at the end of a corridor in a Paris building.
There were 11 from Australia, France, Germany and the United States, and from the main field cable certification equipment manufacturers. The building is the headquarters of SYCABEL, the French institute of wire and electric cables.

The representatives were there to deal with a liaison request from ISO/IEC WG3 to create a new work item on IEC 61935-2-xx (create new blank detail specifications for work station cords) for class E, EA, F and FA cabling to match the new generic cabling Standards.

They were also responding to a new work item request made at the IEC TC46C meeting in Seattle in October 2010 to perform early maintenance on IEC 61935-1 edition 3 (the copper cable testing Standard) to revise its accuracy for testing cables (class EA, F, FA) carrying ever-faster Ethernet.
The Australian delegate was the original proposer of the new work item for improved accuracy.

ISO/IEC JTC/1 SC 25 WG3

During the following week, 55 participants (including most of those present at the Paris meeting) met at the German Institute of Standardisation (DIN) in Berlin.

They were from 22 countries: Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.

The Berlin meeting dealt with:

• Progress on the work of restructuring the generic cabling Standard ISO/IEC 11801. This work will end up providing a central common specification for generic structured cabling with a series of associated application Standards for various site applications. (The work is being done by an international sub-committee that is proceeding between meetings). The draft was submitted by the editor to central office at end of the meeting.
• Publication of a consolidated version of ISO/IEC 11801 second edition 2002 with amendments 1, 2 and corrigenda
• The consolidated version of ISO/IEC 14763-3 FO testing Standard, which was issued internationally in February 2011 but without the recently voted corrigenda. The next edition (fourth) was commenced. This will include multi-fibre (MPO-style) connectors.
• The data centre Standard ISO/IEC 24764 amendment 1, which was out for PDAM. The next edition was begun.
• The industrial cabling Standard ISO/IEC 24702, which was at the final draft amendment stage.
• The completely rewritten (cabling) planning and installation guide ISO/IEC 14763-2, which was out for a second final draft international Standard.
• The provisional draft technical report 14763-2-1, dealing with identifiers in administration systems, which was ready for publication.
• The ISO/IEC 29106 introduction to the MICE environmental Standard which, although approved, was waiting for several comments to be resolved with input from the IEC SC65 committee.

IEC TC46C WG9

Work proceeded smoothly and without dissent on the writing of all of the blank detail specifications for the class E, EA, F and FA workstation cords. The blank detail specifications Standards were to be sent out for ratification.

The new, higher-accuracy version of the copper cabling test Standard seemed to have evoked two camps. One already had the new balun-less technology in the ‘front end’ of testers and could already test more accurately to 1000MHz. The other did not, and so resisted the change due to being behind in development work.

The Australian delegate attended previous copper testing Standard meetings in which the test Standard accuracy had to be relaxed above 600MHz due to manufacturers experiencing technical limitations, and so was now keen to have the improved accuracy available in all testers.

A WD together with the RR (maintenance upgrade) launching of the official revision of IEC 61935-1 third edition (to fourth edition), containing a new level V accuracy supporting up to class FA applications, will be circulated to all attendees using the IEC collaboration tool.

It will be discussed at the next meeting, thence circulated as a committee draft in the second week of October 2011 (ready for the Melbourne IEC general and ISO plenary meetings).

ISO/IEC JTC/1 SC 25 WG3

During the week in Berlin, resolution was obtained to all comments on International votes on:

• The final draft international Standard on the new planning and installation guide ISO/IEC 14763-2.
• Amendment 2 (addition of FO) to 15018 the home cabling Standard.                                                                                      
• ISO/IEC 14763-2-1 TR – identifiers in administration systems.
• Final provisional draft amendment 1 to 24764 the data centre Standard.

The ‘round robin’ test results on encircled flux as added in amendment 1 to 14763-3 the FO testing Standard were found to be incomplete, but those obtained by the Japanese tests show good reproducibility.

The next editions of 14763-3 the FO testing Standard, and 24764 the data centre Standard (to include an additional cabling subsystem) were begun.
Progress was made on the work on the next edition (third) of ISO/IEC 11801 and the restructuring with its associated implementation Standards.

As a result of these meetings, work has begun on the adoption of copies of new editions of the following Standards in Australia as follows:

• Consolidated version of ISO/IEC 11801 – a priority (an ‘Australian interpretive’ appendix has been written by an Australian subcommittee to accompany the local publication of a copy of the international consolidated edition when it arrives).
• A local copy of ISO/IEC 24702 industrial final provisional draft amendment 1 has been circulated for an Australia/New Zealand vote.
• A local copy of ISO/IEC 24764 data centres with amendment has been circulated for an Australian vote.
• ISO/IEC 14763-3 FO testing, consolidated version and new edition (an ‘Australian interpretive’ appendix has been written by an Australian subcommittee to accompany the local publication of a copy of the international consolidated edition). 

At the Berlin meeting the following general items were also discussed:

• JTC 1 directives have been replaced by ISO. Discussion took place on the status of IEC directives. The final committee draft stage will be left out in future to speed up approval.
• Attempts will once again be made to get CISPR (the IEC committee on EMC) to include references to generic cabling in its Standards – liaison letter written).
• A liaison from the IEC TC46 WG9 committee reported it had approved a new work item to ISO/IEC 61935-1 for higher accuracy copper cabling testing to 1000MHz. The liaison letter from IEC TC46C WG9 asked WG3 to determine an upper limit for a new edition of the testing document now under way.

The chairman of the home cabling Standard was requested to finalise the FO amendment before it runs out of the allocated time.

The US has emerging Standards on building automation, data centres and grounding and bonding.

There was tacit agreement that the new work item on healthcare cabling proposed by the US at the previous meeting would be accommodated as part of the restructured version of 11801.

The liaison from the IEEE announced that 4x25G ‘lanes’ were favoured to provide 100G Ethernet. There are also new link lengths for data centre top of rack and end of rack connections. 

Following the untimely death of chairman Stuart Reeves and the retirement of key member Joe Walling, the cabling links/channels modelling task group was re-formed and will meet via teleconference before the next WG3 meeting in Melbourne

The series of Standards for the eight-way modular connector, IEC 60603-7-xx series, now has a  stability (renewal) date of 2014.

The IEC 61076-3-104 (Siemon alternative connector to the eight-way modular connector) working draft to 1500MHz (2000MHz?) has not circulated yet.

The IEC 60512-28 (connector test Standard to 1000MHz) to be circulated as CDV.

A new IEC 60512-28 will soon be started for connectors above 1000MHz.

Rumours emerged that CENELEC (European Standards body) will soon follow with its cabling test Standard above 1000MHz.

No optical return loss to be in the next edition of 11801 and the terms OM, OS, etc, reinstated.

The Australian representative took part in voluntary work on a preliminary draft of the next three-year plan for the development of cabling Standards.

A call for more accuracy (new fourth edition of IEC 61935-1) while leaving the top frequency at 1000MHz (subject to survey).

The Australian delegate will be required to assist with the preparation of the WD (initially using the collaboration tool, then possibly using Webex or Skype during a subsequent interim working committee meeting.

Seconded editor from WG3 was able to input draft consolidated edition of ISO/IEC 11801 to Geneva. (Central office was unable to provide an editor). It is expected to be published soon (subject to final checking by the specially formed WG3 subcommittee). 

Home cabling ISO/IEC 15018 amendment 2 (now includes optical fibre) must be issued by June 2011 or the project will have to be started again.

Planning and installation guide 14763-2 – resolution of final (mostly editorial) comments was achieved in Berlin and the document will be issued before the Melbourne meeting.

Identifiers in administration systems technical report 14763-2-1 – last few comments (mostly editorial) were resolved in Berlin and the published document will be issued soon.

ISO/IEC 24764 data centres – next edition will incorporate cabling sub-system NWIP.

Professor Laurie Halme of Helsinki University of Technology was guest speaker, on the topic of EMC requirements of the ‘digital dividend’. WG3 agreed that any effects would be considered for the next edition of 11801.

Gerd Weking (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25 chairman, representing the heads of national committees) and the German hosts presented Walter von Pattay with a small gift commemorating his chairmanship of 50 meetings.